Jones County interviews Board of Tax Assessors candidates as commissioners debate reassessment, staffing and possible removal of chief appraiser

Jones County commissioners held a work session on Jan. 14 to interview candidates for vacant seats on the Board of Tax Assessors while debating how to respond to a multiyear shortfall in the county's sales-ratio target and persistent complaints about office morale and procedures.

The interviews, led by County Administrator Jason Reznor, featured three candidates and multiple commissioners pressing for details about staffing, reassessments and whether the county should move to replace the chief appraiser or board members before a state peer review of the assessor's office is complete. No formal personnel actions were taken during the session.

Candidates, the board and members of the public focused on three linked issues: the county's sales-ratio numbers versus the state's target, whether a countywide reassessment or changes in WinGAP (the appraisal software) should be used, and internal personnel or morale problems inside the tax assessor's office.

The immediate trigger for the discussion was state data showing Jones County below the state's recommended assessment ratio band. Commissioners and interviewees repeatedly cited the state’s target range — generally described in the meeting as roughly 36%–44% — and a cited county measurement near 31% in recent reports. Commissioners said the shortfall has meant lost revenue and repeated concerns about uniformity of assessments.

"Fairness is obviously the the basis of sentencing, and so the fairness is what struck me in all of this for the taxation, principles," one candidate said in describing why she sought the appointment to the Board of Tax Assessors.…